Lucifer Box

Lucifer Box
Lucifer Box
First appearance	The Vesuvius Club
Last appearance	Black Butterfly (novel)
Created by	Mark Gatiss
In-universe information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Portrait painter Secret agent
Children	Christmas Box (son)
Relatives	Pandora Box (sister)
Nationality	British

Lucifer Box is a fictional character created by Mark Gatiss. A "lucifer box" is the same as a matchbox, lucifer being an old name for matches.

Appearances

• The Vesuvius Club (2004)
  • The Vesuvius Club: Graphic Edition (2005)
• The Devil in Amber (2006)
• Black Butterfly (2008)

Persona

Box is a flamboyant, dashing and elegant figure who displays a prominent sense of fashion. A portrait painter to the rich and influential, he uses this as cover for his activities as a secret agent (in the world of the novels, the Royal Academy is the front for Britain's secret services). Box is a charming but ruthless figure, who combines a sardonic sense of humour with a cold determination to kill when necessary.

He lives at Number 9 Downing Street (next door to the Prime Minister, famously at Number 10), and presumbably two doors down from the Chancellor of the Exchequer. (Historical note: No. 9 Downing Street is behind the Cabinet Office building at 70 Whitehall and has now been absorbed into that office complex.)

Box is also openly bisexual, and is equally comfortable seducing both male and female partners.

Family

He has a sister called Pandora and a servant called Delilah, and in the third novel, The Black Butterfly, has a son called Christmas.

References

• Clark, Alex (2007-06-24). "I'm Agatha Christie with attitude". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2007-07-26.